Dynamically generating a reduced item price

ABSTRACT

A system may receive information representing a first item and an item price of the first item from a first user device operated by a buyer. The first item may be available for sale by a merchant of a brick-and-mortar store. A plurality of sellers may be identified, the plurality of sellers may list a second item as being available for sale at the calculated reduced item price in an item listing for the second item. Moreover, the second item may be similar to the first item. A reduced item price may be calculated based on the item price of the first item received from the user device, the reduced item price representing a price lower than the item price of the first item. The item listing for the second item available for sale may be presented to the first user device operated by the buyer.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/688,079 filed Nov. 19, 2019, which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/249,668, filed Apr. 10, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.10,510,090, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to the processingof data. Specifically, the present disclosure addresses systems andmethods to present an item listing for an item available for sale at areduced price.

BACKGROUND

A brick-and-mortar store may offer merchandise items available for saleat a price that is comparable to the price for the same item online.Therefore, a user browsing the brick-and-mortar may decide to purchasean item from the brick-and-mortar store rather than purchasing the itemonline.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a network environment suitablefor presenting an item at a reduced price, according to some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of a price reductionmachine, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an example user interface of an option to calculate a reduceditem price, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an example user interface of an option to search for itemlistings at the calculated reduced item price, according to some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 5 is an example user interface of a search results page of sellerslisting an item at the calculated reduced item price, according to someexample embodiments.

FIG. 6-7 are flowcharts illustrating operations of a price reductionmachine in performing a method of presenting an item listing for an itemat a reduced item price, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods and systems are directed to presenting an item listed ata reduced price. Examples merely typify possible variations. Unlessexplicitly stated otherwise, components and functions are optional andmay be combined or subdivided, and operations may vary in sequence or becombined or subdivided. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of example embodiments. It will be evident to oneskilled in the art, however, that the present subject matter may bepracticed without these specific details.

A brick-and-mortar store may list an item as being available for sale.The price of the item in the brick-and-mortar store may be comparable tothe price of the item from an online listing. However, a system may beused to search and discover whether an online seller is willing to sellthe item at a more affordable price to the buyer. The user may submititem information including the price of the item to the system and thesystem may the use the information to calculate a reduced item price.The online seller may submit also a price range at which the seller iswilling to sell the item, which may include the reduced item price. Thesystem can then identify the online seller as being able to list theitem at the calculated reduced item price. In this way, the userbrowsing the brick-and-mortar store can be connected with the onlineseller willing to sell the item at the reduced item price.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a network environment 100suitable for presenting an item at a reduced price, according to someexample embodiments. The network environment 100 includes a pricereduction machine 110, a database 115, and devices 130, and 150, allcommunicatively coupled to each other via a network 190. The pricereduction machine 110 and the devices 130, and 150 may each beimplemented in a computer system, in whole or in part, as describedbelow with respect to FIG. 8.

Also shown in FIG. 1 are users 132 and 152. One or both of the users 132and 152 may be a human user (e.g., a human being), a machine user (e.g.,a computer configured by a software program to interact with the device130), or any suitable combination thereof (e.g., a human assisted by amachine or a machine supervised by a human). The user 132 is not part ofthe network environment 100, but is associated with the device 130 andmay be a user of the device 130. For example, the device 130 may be adesktop computer, a vehicle computer, a tablet computer, a navigationaldevice, a portable media device, or a smart phone belonging to the user132. Likewise, the user 152 is not part of the network environment 100,but is associated with the device 150. As an example, the device 150 maybe a desktop computer, a vehicle computer, a tablet computer, anavigational device, a portable media device, or a smart phone belongingto the user 152.

FIG. 1 may also include a first item 134 located within abrick-and-mortar store 120. The user 132 may be browsing thebrick-and-mortar store 120 and viewing the first item 134 inside thebrick-and-mortar store 120. The user 132 may submit informationrepresenting the first item 134 including the price of the first item134 to the price reduction machine 110 via the network 190. The pricereduction machine 110 may calculate a reduced item price based on theprice of the first item 134. Moreover, the price reduction machine 110may identify user 152 as listing a second item 154 at the calculatedreduced item price in an item listing for the second item 154. Thesecond item 154 may be similar or identical to the first item 134. Uponidentifying user 152 as listing the second item 154 at the calculatedreduced item price, the price reduction machine 110 may present the itemlisting for the second item 154 to the device 130 operated by user 132.

Any of the machines, databases, or devices shown in FIG. 1 may beimplemented in a general-purpose computer modified (e.g., configured orprogrammed) by software to be a special-purpose computer to perform oneor more of the functions described herein for that machine, database, ordevice. As used herein, a “database” is a data storage resource and maystore data structured as a text file, a table, a spreadsheet, arelational database (e.g., an object-relational database), a triplestore, a hierarchical data store, or any suitable combination thereof.Moreover, any two or more of the machines, databases, or devicesillustrated in FIG. 1 may be combined into a single machine, and thefunctions described herein for any single machine, database, or devicemay be subdivided among multiple machines, databases, or devices.

The network 190 may be any network that enables communication between oramong machines, databases, and devices (e.g., the price reductionmachine 110 and the device 130). Accordingly, the network 190 may be awired network, a wireless network (e.g., a mobile or cellular network),or any suitable combination thereof. The network 190 may include one ormore portions that constitute a private network, a public network (e.g.,the Internet), or any suitable combination thereof. Accordingly, thenetwork 190 may include one or more portions that incorporate a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, a mobiletelephone network (e.g., a cellular network), a wired telephone network(e.g., a plain old telephone system (POTS) network), a wireless datanetwork (e.g., WiFi network or WiMax network), or any suitablecombination thereof. Any one or more portions of the network 190 maycommunicate information via a transmission medium. As used herein,“transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions forexecution by a machine, and includes digital or analog communicationsignals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of suchsoftware.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the price reductionmachine 110, according to some example embodiments. The price reductionmachine 110 is shown as including a reception module 210, a calculationmodule 220, an identification module 230, and a presentation module 240,all configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, sharedmemory, or a switch). Any one or more of the modules described hereinmay be implemented using hardware (e.g., a processor of a machine) or acombination of hardware and software. For example, any module describedherein may configure a processor to perform the operations describedherein for that module. Moreover, any two or more of these modules maybe combined into a single module, and the functions described herein fora single module may be subdivided among multiple modules. Furthermore,according to various example embodiments, modules described herein asbeing implemented within a single machine, database, or device may bedistributed across multiple machines, databases, or devices.

In various example embodiments, the reception module 210 is configuredto receive information representing a first item and an item price ofthe first item from a user device of a buyer. The informationrepresenting the first item may include a bar code, an identificationnumber, a description, and an image depicting the first item, or anysuitable combination thereof. The item price of the first item may beestablished by a merchant of a brick-and-mortar store where the firstitem is available for sale. In various example embodiments, thereception module 210 is further configured to receive location data fromthe user device of the buyer. The location data may indicate a locationof the first item. Location data may include location coordinates, anaddress, or any suitable combination thereof. In various exampleembodiments, the reception module 210 is further configured to receivean indication from a seller to list a second item as being available forsale at a reduced price, as further explained below.

In various example embodiments, the calculation module 220 is configuredto calculate a reduced item price based on the item price of the firstitem received from the user device. In some instances, the calculatedreduced item price may be represented as a price range. In variousexample embodiments, the calculation module 220 is configured tocalculate the reduced item price in response to the identificationmodule 230 determining that the location of the first item matches thelocation of the brick-and-mortar store operated by the merchant. Thereduced item price may represent a price at which the buyer is willingto purchase the second item from an item listing for the second iteminstead of purchasing the first item from the brick-and-mortar store. Insome instances, the calculated reduced item price represents a reductionin price from the item price of the first item or a price lower than theitem price of the first item. In various example embodiments, thecalculation module 220 is further configured to calculate the reduceditem price based on pricing criteria corresponding to the plurality ofsellers identified by the identification module 230, as furtherexplained below. The pricing criteria may indicate constraints on behalfof a seller associated with pricing an item. For example, the seller maynot be able to list an item below a certain item threshold price. Asanother example, each of the plurality of sellers may submit a pricerange that the seller is willing to sell an item similar to the firstitem. As such, the price range may represent a range of prices that theseller is willing to sell the item similar to the first item. Therefore,the calculation module 220 may be further configured to calculate thereduced item price based on the price range indicated by each of theplurality of sellers. In various example embodiments, the calculationmodule 220 is further configured to calculate the reduced item pricebased on price preferences of the buyer. The price preferences of thebuyer may be received from the user device of the buyer by the receptionmodule 210. The price preferences of the buyer may indicate a pricerange acceptable to the buyer that chooses to purchase the second itemfrom an online seller, rather than purchasing the first item directlyfrom the brick-and-mortar store. Therefore, the price preferences of thebuyer may take into consideration the costs and delay associated withhaving the second item shipped to the buyer. As a result, thecalculation module 220 may also calculate the reduced item price basedon shipping costs of sending the second item to the buyer. For instance,if the shipping costs of sending the second item to the buyer are high,then the reduced item price may be significantly lower than the itemprice of the first item and vice versa. The calculation module 220 mayalso calculate the reduced item price based on delivery time of sendingthe second item to the buyer. The length of the delivery time of sendingthe second item to the buyer may be correlated with the calculatedreduced item price. In other words, the longer it takes to deliver thesecond item, the lower the calculated reduced item price may be.

In various example embodiments, the identification module 230 isconfigured to identify a plurality of sellers that list the second itemas being available for sale at the calculated reduced item price in theitem listing for the second item. In various example embodiments, eachof the plurality of sellers may indicate a price range which includesthe calculated reduced item price. The price range may represent a rangeof prices that the seller is willing to sell the second item. Moreover,the identification module 230 may identify the plurality of sellersbased on the price range indicated by each of the plurality of sellers.In this way, each of the plurality of sellers does not have to manuallyadjust the price of the second item to the calculated reduced itemprice. In various example embodiments, the identification module 230 isfurther configured to detect that the plurality of sellers adjusts theprice of the second item from an original price to the reduced itemprice in the item listing for the second item. For instance, the sellermay have originally listed the second item at the original price.However, upon being notified of the reduced item price, the seller mayhave adjusted the original price to the reduced item price. Theidentification module 230 may then identify the seller based ondetecting that the seller adjusts the price of the second item. Invarious example embodiments, the identification module 230 is furtherconfigured to identify the plurality of sellers based on the receptionmodule 210 receiving the indication from the plurality of sellers tolist the second item as being available for sale at the reduced itemprice. For instance, the reception module 210 may receive a message fromthe plurality of sellers that the plurality of sellers is willing tolist the second item at the reduced item price. In various exampleembodiments, the presentation module 240 may present the reduced itemprice to the plurality of sellers. In this way, the plurality of sellerscan make an informed decision of whether to list the second item at thereduced item price.

In various example embodiments, the identification module 230 is furtherconfigured to determine that the second item is similar to the firstitem based on comparing item characteristics of the second item withitem characteristics the first item. For instance, the identificationmodule 230 may determine that the second item and the first item share athreshold amount of item characteristics. As an example, the second itemmay be referenced by the same identification number as the first item.As another example, the second item may serve a same function as thefirst item. As another example, the second item and the first item mayboth share a similar description. In some instances, the second item maybe identical to the first item.

In various example embodiments, the identification module 230 is furtherconfigured to identify the plurality of sellers based on matching theinformation representing the first item to item listings managed by theplurality of sellers. For instance, the information used to describe thefirst item may be matched with descriptions from the item listingsmanaged by the plurality of sellers. Therefore each of the plurality ofsellers may have an item listing for an item with a description thatmatches with the first item (e.g., an item listing for an item similarto the first item). In various example embodiments, the identificationmodule 230 is further configured to determine that the location of thefirst item matches a location of the brick-and-mortar store based on thelocation data received at the reception module 210. As statedpreviously, the brick-and-mortar store may be where the first item isavailable for sale. Moreover, the item price of the first item may beestablished by the merchant operating the brick-and-mortar store. Thelocation match performed by the identification module 230 may be used toverify that the first item is located within the brick-and-mortar storewhen the reception module 210 receives the information representing thefirst item and the item price of the first item from the user device ofthe buyer.

In various example embodiments, the presentation module 250 isconfigured to present the item listing for the second item available forsale at the reduced price to the user device of the buyer. In variousexample embodiments, the second item may only be available for at thereduced price for a predetermined duration of time. After thepredetermined duration of time elapses, then the price of the seconditem may increase. The presentation module 250 may cause the user deviceof the buyer to display the item listing for the second item. Thepresentation module 250 may also display information of the seller thatlists the second item at the reduced item price. For instance, contactinformation for the seller may be displayed.

FIG. 3 is an example user interface 300 of an option to calculate areduced item price, according to some example embodiments. The userinterface 300 may display information representing an item 302.Moreover, the user interface 300 may be displayed on a user device ofthe buyer. As shown in FIG. 3, the information representing the item 302may include a price of the item 302, a description of the item 302, andan identification code of the item 302. The example user interface 300may also include an option 304 to calculate a reduce item price. Uponclicking on the option 304, information representing the item 302 andthe item price of the item 302 may be sent from the user device of thebuyer to the reception module 210 of the price reduction machine 110.

FIG. 4 is an example user interface 400 of an option to search for itemlistings at the calculated reduced item price, according to some exampleembodiments. In response to the user clicking on the option 304 of FIG.3, the calculated reduced item price 404 may be displayed to the user inthe user interface 400. In some embodiments, the calculated reduced itemprice 404 may be represented as a price range. Moreover, the userinterface 400 may include the option 406 to search item listings foritems available for sale at the calculated reduce item price 404.

FIG. 5 is an example user interface 500 of a search results page ofsellers listing an item at the calculated reduced item price, accordingto some example embodiments. The sellers 510 and 520 may be identifiedby the identification module 230 as listing an item as being availablefor sale within the range indicated by the calculated reduced price 404indicated in FIG. 4. As stated previously, the calculated reduced itemprice may be represented as a price range. Each of the selected sellers510 and 520 may list an item that is similar to the item 302 of FIG. 3.The identification module 230 may determine the item B listed by theseller 510 is similar to the item 302 of FIG. 3 by comparing the itemcharacteristics of item B with the item characteristics of the item 302.Likewise, the identification module 230 may determine the item C listedby the seller 530 is similar to the item 302 of FIG. 3 by comparing theitem characteristics of item C with the item characteristics the item302. Additionally, the example user interface 500 may also include anoption to purchase 520 the item B available for sale from seller 510 aswell as an option to purchase 540 the item C available for sale fromseller 530.

FIG. 6-7 are flowcharts illustrating operations of the price reductionmachine 110 in performing a method 600 of presenting an item listing foran item at a reduced item price, according to some example embodiments.Operations in the method 600 may be performed by the price reductionmachine 110, using modules described above with respect to FIG. 2. Asshown in FIG. 6, the method 600 includes operations 610, 620, 630, 640,and 650.

At operation 610, the reception module 210 may receive informationrepresenting a first item and an item price of the first item from auser device of a buyer.

At operation 620, the calculation module 220 may calculate a reduceditem price based on the item price of the first item received from theuser device.

At operation 630, the identification module 230 may identify a pluralityof sellers that list the second item as being available for sale at thecalculated reduced item price in an item listing for the second item.

At operation 640, the presentation module 250 may present the itemlisting for the second item available for sale at the reduced price tothe user device of the buyer.

As shown in FIG. 7, the method 600 may include one or more of operations710, 720, and 730. One of more of operations 710 and 720 may beperformed as part (e.g., a precursor task, a subroutine, or a portion)of operation 620. One or more of operations 730-750 may be performed aspart (e.g., a precursor task, a subroutine, or a portion) of operation630.

At operation 710, the reception module 210 may receive location datathat indicates a location of the first item.

At operation 720, the identification module 230 may determine that thelocation of the first item matches the location of the brick-and-mortarstore. Moreover, calculation module 220 may calculate the reduced itemprice in response to the determination that the location of the firstitem matches the location of the brick-and-mortar store.

At operation 730, the identification module 230 may detect that theplurality of sellers adjusts the price of the second item from anoriginal price to the reduced item price in the item listing for thesecond item.

At operation 740, the presentation module 250 may present the reduceditem price to the plurality of sellers of the second item.

At operation 750, the reception module 210 may receive an indicationfrom the seller to list the second item as being available for sale atthe reduced item price.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 800,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions 824from a machine-readable medium 822 (e.g., a machine-readable storagemedium, a computer-readable storage medium, or any suitable combinationthereof) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, in whole or in part. Specifically, FIG. 8 shows the machine 800in the example form of a computer system within which the instructions824 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 800 to perform any one ormore of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed, in whole orin part. In alternative embodiments, the machine 800 operates as astandalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines. In a networked deployment, the machine 800 may operate in thecapacity of a server machine or a client machine in a server-clientnetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a distributed (e.g.,peer-to-peer) network environment. The machine 800 may be a servercomputer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a cellular telephone, asmartphone, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), aweb appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, orany machine capable of executing the instructions 824, sequentially orotherwise, that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute the instructions 824 to perform all or part of any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The machine 800 includes a processor 802 (e.g., a central processingunit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aradio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), or any suitable combinationthereof), a main memory 804, and a static memory 806, which areconfigured to communicate with each other via a bus 808. The processor802 may contain microcircuits that are configurable, temporarily orpermanently, by some or all of the instructions 824 such that theprocessor 802 is configurable to perform any one or more of themethodologies described herein, in whole or in part. For example, a setof one or more microcircuits of the processor 802 may be configurable toexecute one or more modules (e.g., software modules) described herein.

The machine 800 may further include a graphics display 810 (e.g., aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, a cathode ray tube (CRT), orany other display capable of displaying graphics or video). The machine800 may also include an alphanumeric input device 812 (e.g., a keyboardor keypad), a cursor control device 814 (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, atrackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, an eye tracking device, or otherpointing instrument), a storage unit 816, an audio generation device 818(e.g., a sound card, an amplifier, a speaker, a headphone jack, or anysuitable combination thereof), and a network interface device 820.

The storage unit 816 includes the machine-readable medium 822 (e.g., atangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) on whichare stored the instructions 824 embodying any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 824 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory804, within the processor 802 (e.g., within the processor's cachememory), or both, before or during execution thereof by the machine 800.Accordingly, the main memory 804 and the processor 802 may be consideredmachine-readable media (e.g., tangible and non-transitorymachine-readable media). The instructions 824 may be transmitted orreceived over the network 190 via the network interface device 820. Forexample, the network interface device 820 may communicate theinstructions 824 using any one or more transfer protocols (e.g.,hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)).

In some example embodiments, the machine 800 may be a portable computingdevice, such as a smart phone or tablet computer, and have one or moreadditional input components 830 (e.g., sensors or gauges). Examples ofsuch input components 830 include an image input component (e.g., one ormore cameras), an audio input component (e.g., a microphone), adirection input component (e.g., a compass), a location input component(e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver), an orientationcomponent (e.g., a gyroscope), a motion detection component (e.g., oneor more accelerometers), an altitude detection component (e.g., analtimeter), and a gas detection component (e.g., a gas sensor). Inputsharvested by any one or more of these input components may be accessibleand available for use by any of modules described herein.

As used herein, the term “memory” refers to a machine-readable mediumable to store data temporarily or permanently and may be taken toinclude, but not be limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory, and cache memory. While themachine-readable medium 822 is shown in an example embodiment to be asingle medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken toinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to storeinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium, or combination of multiple media, that is capable ofstoring the instructions 824 for execution by the machine 800, such thatthe instructions 824, when executed by one or more processors of themachine 800 (e.g., processor 802), cause the machine 800 to perform anyone or more of the methodologies described herein, in whole or in part.Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” refers to a single storageapparatus or device, as well as cloud-based storage systems or storagenetworks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices. The term“machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but notbe limited to, one or more tangible data repositories in the form of asolid-state memory, an optical medium, a magnetic medium, or anysuitable combination thereof.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or ina transmission signal) or hardware modules. A “hardware module” is atangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In some embodiments, a hardware module may be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware module may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations. For example, ahardware module may be a special-purpose processor, such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or an ASIC. A hardware module may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwaremodule may include software encompassed within a general-purposeprocessor or other programmable processor. It will be appreciated thatthe decision to implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations.

Accordingly, the phrase “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. As used herein,“hardware-implemented module” refers to a hardware module. Consideringembodiments in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g.,programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured orinstantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where a hardwaremodule comprises a general-purpose processor configured by software tobecome a special-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware modules) at different times. Software mayaccordingly configure a processor, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware module at one instance of time and to constitute adifferent hardware module at a different instance of time.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiplehardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achievedthrough signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses)between or among two or more of the hardware modules. In embodiments inwhich multiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated atdifferent times, communications between such hardware modules may beachieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of informationin memory structures to which the multiple hardware modules have access.For example, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions describedherein. As used herein, “processor-implemented module” refers to ahardware module implemented using one or more processors.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, a processor being an example of hardware. Forexample, at least some of the operations of a method may be performed byone or more processors or processor-implemented modules. Moreover, theone or more processors may also operate to support performance of therelevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a “softwareas a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations maybe performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines includingprocessors), with these operations being accessible via a network (e.g.,the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., anapplication program interface (API)).

The performance of certain operations may be distributed among the oneor more processors, not only residing within a single machine, butdeployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, theone or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be locatedin a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, theone or more processors or processor-implemented modules may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

Some portions of the subject matter discussed herein may be presented interms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on datastored as bits or binary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g.,a computer memory). Such algorithms or symbolic representations areexamples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilledin the art. As used herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequenceof operations or similar processing leading to a desired result. In thiscontext, algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation ofphysical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities maytake the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable ofbeing stored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwisemanipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally forreasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as“data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,”“characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words,however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated withappropriate physical quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or any suitable combination thereof), registers, orother machine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation. Furthermore, unless specifically stated otherwise, theterms “a” or “an” are herein used, as is common in patent documents, toinclude one or more than one instance. Finally, as used herein, theconjunction “or” refers to a non-exclusive “or,” unless specificallystated otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a processorfrom a user device, information representing a first item and an itemprice of the first item available for sale; causing to be displayed, atthe user device, a first user interface that includes an option tosearch for a second item at a reduced price; calculating a reduced itemprice based on the item price of the first item and a price rangeassociated with each of a plurality of sellers, the reduced item pricerepresenting a price lower than the item price of the first item;identifying, in response to receiving a selection of the option tosearch for the second item at the reduced price, a plurality of itemlistings that list a second item having similar characteristics to thefirst item and being available for sale at the reduced item price, thesecond item being separate from the first item, the plurality of itemlistings being associated with the plurality of sellers; and causing asecond user interface to be displayed by the user device in response tothe selection of the option to search for the second item at the reducedprice, the second user interface displaying the second item.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the calculating the reduced item price isfurther based on pricing criteria corresponding to the plurality ofsellers.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating the reduceditem price is further based on price preferences received from the userdevice.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating the reduceditem price is further based on shipping costs of sending the second itemto a user associated with the user device.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising detecting that a price of the second item is adjustedfrom an original price to the reduced item price in the item listing forthe second item.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising causingthe reduced item price to be displayed on user devices associated withthe plurality of sellers, and wherein identifying the plurality of itemlistings is further based on receiving an indication from the pluralityof sellers to list the second item as being available for sale at thereduced item price.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining that the second item is similar to the first item based oncomparing item characteristics of the second item with itemcharacteristics of the first item.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the plurality of item listings is based on matching theinformation representing the first item to item listings managed by theplurality of sellers.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the price rangerepresents a range of prices that each of the plurality of sellers iswilling to sell the second item.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving location data from the user device, the locationdata indicating a location of the first item; and determining that thelocation data matches a location of a brick-and-mortar store that sellsthe first item.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the informationrepresenting the first item includes at least one of a bar code, anidentification number, a description, and an image depicting the item.12. A system comprising: one or more hardware processors; memory tostore instructions that, when executed by the one or more hardwareprocessors, cause the one or more hardware processors to performoperations comprising: receiving, by a processor from a user device,information representing a first item and an item price of the firstitem available for sale; causing to be displayed, at the user device, afirst user interface that includes an option to search for a second itemat a reduced price; calculating a reduced item price based on the itemprice of the first item and a price range associated with each of aplurality of sellers, the reduced item price representing a price lowerthan the item price of the first item; identifying, in response toreceiving a selection of the Option to search for the second item at thereduced price, a plurality of item listings that list a second itemhaving similar characteristics to the first item and being available forsale at the reduced item price, the second item being separate from thefirst item, the plurality of item listings being associated with theplurality of sellers; and causing a second user interface to bedisplayed by the user device in response to the selection of the optionto search for the second item at the reduced price, the second userinterface displaying the second item.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the calculating the reduced item price is further based onpricing criteria corresponding to the plurality of sellers.
 14. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the calculating the reduced item price isfurther based on price preferences received from the user device. 15.The system of claim 12, wherein the calculating the reduced item priceis further based on shipping costs of sending the second item to a userassociated with the user device.
 16. The system of claim 12, theoperations further comprising detecting that a price of the second itemis adjusted from an original price to the reduced item price in the itemlisting for the second item.
 17. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising: causing the reduced item price to be displayed on userdevices associated with the plurality of sellers, and whereinidentifying the plurality of item listings is further based on receivingan indication from the plurality of sellers to list the second item asbeing available for sale at the reduced item price.
 18. The system ofclaim 12, the operations further comprising: determining that the seconditem is similar to the first item based on comparing itemcharacteristics of the second item with item characteristics of thefirst item.
 19. The system of claim 12, the operations furthercomprising: receiving location data from the user device, the locationdata indicating a location of the first item; and determining that thelocation data matches a location of a brick-and-mortar store that sellsthe first item.
 20. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine,cause the machine to perform operations comprising: receiving, by aprocessor from a user device, information representing a first item andan item price of the first item available for sale; causing to bedisplayed, at the user device, a first user interface that includes anoption to search for a second item at a reduced price; calculating areduced item price based on the item price of the first item and a pricerange associated with each of a plurality of sellers, the reduced itemprice representing a price lower than the item price of the first item;identifying, in response to receiving a selection of the option tosearch for the second item at the reduced price, a plurality of itemlistings that list a second item having similar characteristics to thefirst item and being available for sale at the reduced item price, thesecond item being separate from the first item, the plurality of itemlistings being associated with the plurality of sellers; and causing asecond user interface to be displayed by the user device in response tothe selection of the option to search for the second item at the reducedprice, the second user interface displaying the second item.